Tag Archives: Wind Waker HD

There is no real way of saying this other than just saying it: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is a cash-grab. The truth is that Nintendo realized once the Wii U came out that there wouldn’t be another Legend of Zelda game for a while, but this is what fans wanted. I’ve said before how Nintendo just kind of makes its own rules and the fans just follow, but unlike Apple, I don’t think the profit margin is high.

So with no Zelda game until 2015, which still won’t happen, Nintendo was faced with a problem it had to solve: keep Zelda fans happy. The easiest way is just to port and older Zelda game to the Wii U, and the one that wasn’t for the Wii was The Wind Waker, as it is now called Wind Waker HD.

This Zelda game was met with mixed reviews when the original version was released for the Game Cube. Some were expecting more of the Ocarina of Time, which man argue is the best Zelda game ever made. That game was for the N64, which brought Zelda into a 3D world. The Wind Waker decided to turn its hero Link into a Chibi-sized avatar, and the art style was a little too cute for some. Compare that to the darker and grittier style of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

So, does it help to have The Wind Waker come to the Wii U? Well, there could be worse choices. The issue is having the Wii U controller allows the player some interesting possibilities. Most role-playing games of the Zelda type have some kind of a map going on, and a button that you have to toggle to get to the map. With Wind Waker HD, you push a button, and the map appears on a second screen.

There is a similar situation set up with weapons. The Wind Waker is a game where the player has to constantly switch between items that Link is carrying, and the touchscreen on the Wii U controller is very good for this. In fact, it makes it not so inconvenient.

Some of the problems that I’ve run into is when I need to aim something like the boomerang, hookshot, or bow and arrow. I found that I had a super hard time aiming the bow and arrow when I got it in the game, but eventually figured it out. I suppose that makes the game more realistic. What is really cool is how you can use the Wii controller using motion control. It makes it rather interesting and increase the realism factor by at least two.

Honestly, there’s a lot of terrific stuff in this Zelda game, and even without the motion controller, it is very good. There is nothing more that I like than a video game that has fighting but a lot of puzzles as well. If you have a Wii U, and you haven’t bought this old game yet, I do recommend it.